They may hail from Kingston, where on Saturday the band will close the final chapter of a tale carved out of Canadiana, but The Tragically Hip are every Canadian’s hometown band.

And so, emotions were raw at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday as fans congregated one last time to bid farewell to their favourite band in a way befitting The Hip — by rocking out to the bitter end and singing along to every last lyric, or swaying along with a shoulder to cry on.

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Fans flocked from far and wide to the band’s penultimate show, with the lucky ones able to snap up the hottest ticket in town, while others shelled out a fortune to highly contentious online resellers who drew the ire of music lovers coast-to-coast.

Photos: The Tragically Hip at CTC, August 18, 2016

The Tragically Hip front man Gord Downie performing at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday August 18, 2016. Errol McGihon/Postmedia

The Tragically Hip performing at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday August 18, 2016. Errol McGihon/Postmedia

The Tragically Hip front man Gord Downie performing at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday August 18, 2016. Errol McGihon/Postmedia

The Tragically Hip front man Gord Downie performing at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday August 18, 2016. Errol McGihon/Postmedia

The Tragically Hip performing at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday August 18, 2016.Errol McGihon/Postmedia

The Tragically Hip front man Gord Downie performing at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday August 18, 2016. Errol McGihon/Postmedia

The Tragically Hip front man Gord Downie performing at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday August 18, 2016.Errol McGihon/Postmedia

The Tragically Hip front man Gord Downie performing at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday August 18, 2016.Errol McGihon/Postmedia

The Tragically Hip front man Gord Downie performing at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday August 18, 2016. Errol McGihon/Postmedia

The Tragically Hip front man Gord Downie performing at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday August 18, 2016Errol McGihon/Postmedia

The Tragically Hip front man Gord Downie performing at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday August 18, 2016. Errol McGihon/Postmedia

The Tragically Hip front man Gord Downie performing at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday August 18, 2016. Errol McGihon/Postmedia

The Tragically Hip performing at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday August 18, 2016.Errol McGihon/Postmedia

The Tragically Hip front man Gord Downie performing at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday August 18, 2016. Errol McGihon/Postmedia

The Tragically Hip front man Gord Downie performing at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday August 18, 2016. Errol McGihon/Postmedia

The Tragically Hip front man Gord Downie performing at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday August 18, 2016.Errol McGihon/Postmedia

The Tragically Hip front man Gord Downie performing at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday August 18, 2016. Errol McGihon/Postmedia

The Tragically Hip front man Gord Downie performing at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday August 18, 2016.Errol McGihon/Postmedia

The Tragically Hip performing at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday August 18, 2016. Errol McGihon/Postmedia

The Tragically Hip performing at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday August 18, 2016. Errol McGihon/Postmedia

That episode was long-forgotten by the time the doors opened Thursday, with fans lining up for custom merchandise, or in one of many beer lineups that snaked through the arena corridors.

“This is the farewell tour, sad to say, and we wanted to come see them before they went off tour,” said Keylen MacInnis, who drove up from Cape Breton with pal Matthew LeBlanc to catch their first-ever Hip show.

MacInnis said he was left “heartbroken” by the “devastating” news of frontman Gord Downie’s terminal illness.

Many fans were emotional when recalling the terrible day in May when the band went public with Downie’s diagnosis.

“It was shocking,” said Ottawa fans Cailin McGiffin and Jay Watson, who estimated they’ve seen between 20 and 30 Hip shows.

“You feel like you know them. It’s like the soundtrack of your life,” said McGiffin. “We’ve grown up listening to them for as long as we’ve been together — it’s our relationship, it’s our lives. To get such horrible news, it sort of feels like a family member.”

“You connect with their words, you connect with their songs and you take it in,” said Watson. “You really live it.”

And while the beloved band never really found its way to the “big time” in the U.S. market (which only added to their allure back home), they earned a devoted following south of the border.

Kaila Carroll and Dana Seaton drove up from Rhode Island to catch a pair of final shows in Toronto and Ottawa.

“Being into the Hip as an American, you’re sort of in a bubble,” said Carroll. “When you see the Hip in the States, it’s in a bar with 200 people. We never heard a single song of theirs on the radio back home, we don’t even know what the radio hits are. We just know the songs we love from the albums and the songs they play live.”

Their first taste of a Canadian crowd at a Hip concert, earlier this week at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, was an eye-opener.

“It was amazing because it felt like I found my people,” said Seaton. “I mean, there’s always a good reaction in the crowd to the songs when we see them in the States, but to be there with thousands of people all screaming ‘That night in Toronto,’ (during Bobcaygeon), it’s like a religious experience.”

No matter where they came from, and no matter how many shows each had experienced, every fan said they felt “grateful” for the chance to catch the band one (hopefully not) final time.

“There’s mixed emotions,” said Josee Ouimet, who drove from Montreal to catch her 31st Hip concert. She was sombre as she recalled hearing the news of Downie’s illness.

“I was just getting ready for work when the message came across my phone. I had to sit down on my bed, I just said, ‘No way.’

“I was crying in traffic all the way to work. It still feels unreal to me that this is happening. … I was lucky to be able to get tickets, I’m just grateful I got to be here to see them one last time.”

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